Unsure what to do

Markb06

Hi

On the 28th of July 2008 I started a new job. I got the companies PAYE number and on the same same evening I gave this to Tax credits along with the hours I was doing which is 19. They asked if there was any other changes to which I replied no.

The woman put it all through and said I would get a new reward within 2-3 days and that would be posted out to me but to feel free to phone up after the 2-3 days to get my payment schedule.

On the 1st of August I rang up to be told my new payment details only to find out my child care costs had been removed. I asked why and was not given a answer.

Now on the 1st my child care costs got re added to my claim but I am still waiting to hear something and still not getting my childcare costs. I am now behind with my sons nursery payments and Tax Credits just dont interesting in helping me.

They told me I must wait till Friday before they can even escalate it as its been a week then. But for me its been 11 days waiting as i originally changed my claim on the 28th and not the 1st. It was them that made the mistake in the first place

Any ideas?

Cheers

MinBlack

I'm not really sure about tax credits, except for the fact that they are a total mess! Not that that helps you at all.

What else I do know about them is they literally need things spelled out clearly. I would call them again and ask them to confirm if the information has now been added to you claim, can they tell you when the next payment is due, will the childcare payments be included? If yes how much will you receive, if no or no clear answer then be calm but firm, if they will not pass you through to someone that will give you the answers you need then ask for their name and make it clear you will be making an urgent complaint to your MP. Make it clear that you will lose your childs nursery place which will mean you can't work.

If you get no joy telephone your MP's office and explain the urgency of the situation, they can often telephone in on your behalf and generally MP's are the only people the various benefit agencies will jump to. If they treated their customers like people in the first place they would not have this problem.

Sorry I could not offer more constructive advice and I hope it is sorted soon. Situations like this are far too common and the government wonder why more people on benefits don't try and get back to work. Its a disgrace.

Good luck.

Min

Markb06

Just rang again and still processing it.

I will end up losing my sons placement in the nursery if this carries on which means I will lose my job. Also got told that I would not get a crisis loan as i am earning. Even though I only started my job on the 28th July and will not get any wage until 29th August

[Deleted User]

You called on a friday and it takes at least a few days for changes to be processed. Usually changes dont tend to process very quickly through the weekend so I would give it until the end of this week before calling to check again.
Sometimes changes can get stuck in a processing queue which the advisers cannot speed up. If it takes more than a couple of weeks the issue can be escalated to a team leader who will have the details forwarded to the TCO processing office to try to force through the change.

Markb06

Still waiting this morning. I will be ringing every morning. Getting stupid now. As I will not be getting paid on Monday again. I will now be 2 weeks behind nursery fee's.

Markb06

subsoniccoyote wrote: »

You called on a friday and it takes at least a few days for changes to be processed. Usually changes dont tend to process very quickly through the weekend so I would give it until the end of this week before calling to check again.
Sometimes changes can get stuck in a processing queue which the advisers cannot speed up. If it takes more than a couple of weeks the issue can be escalated to a team leader who will have the details forwarded to the TCO processing office to try to force through the change.

I am not prepared to wait weeks for it. Yes the change happened Friday but it was not a change I made. It was the idiots at tax credits.

Markb06

Did get this from my mp yesterday though

Dear Mark,

Thank you for your email.

I have today written to Tax Credits and as soon as I have a response, I will be in touch.

Siôn Simon MP
Member of Parliament for Birmingham Erdington

hotblu

Markb06 wrote: »

I am not prepared to wait weeks for it. Yes the change happened Friday but it was not a change I made. It was the idiots at tax credits.

Maybe your the "idiot" and not tax credits. If you stopped work then any help with childcare costs would have been stopped. When you called back with your new employment details you have said yourself the advisor asked if their where any other changes to which you replied no... therefore ccc where not added back onto your claim. Cant see how that is tax credits fault. Very easy to blame someone else for something you have over looked.

[Deleted User]

hotblu wrote: »

Maybe your the "idiot" and not tax credits. If you stopped work then any help with childcare costs would have been stopped. When you called back with your new employment details you have said yourself the advisor asked if their where any other changes to which you replied no... therefore ccc where not added back onto your claim. Cant see how that is tax credits fault. Very easy to blame someone else for something you have over looked.

This is true, you didnt mention that you told the adviser that your childcare costs have started. Unless you mention it to the adviser how are they supposed to know?

Markb06

hotblu wrote: »

Maybe your the "idiot" and not tax credits. If you stopped work then any help with childcare costs would have been stopped. When you called back with your new employment details you have said yourself the advisor asked if their where any other changes to which you replied no... therefore ccc where not added back onto your claim. Cant see how that is tax credits fault. Very easy to blame someone else for something you have over looked.

I never stopped work. I finished one on Friday and started the other on Monday.

Way to assume

[Deleted User]

Did you make the changes in two calls? As in called up to end work details and then call back again to add new work details? If so this is why you needed to advise that your childcare had also resumed. When you leave a job the childcare is automatically removed from the award.

If you notified of everything together then there may have been a technical problem.

When did/does the childcare start from? If it starts after the date your job started then this is why it is not on your award as yet. The system wont start paying you for childcare if the date hasnt arrived yet.

And a word of advice - dont come on to the site and call tax credits staff idiots. The majority of help given regarding tax credit issues on this site will come from, you guessed it, tax credit staff!

There have been, and still are some, major problems with the tax credits main computer system meaning that it is not necessarily an error made by an adviser but possibly just a technical sytem screw up.